'Singer of the World' began in 1983 to celebrate the opening of St David's Hall in Cardiff. Watched by eight million viewers worldwide, it is generally regarded as the world's leading vocal competition, having launched a host of stars in their opera career.
In 1989 a Lieder Prize (now called the Song Prize) was introduced, the same year that featured the legendary 'Battle of the Baritones', with Bryn Terfel winning the Lieder Prize and Dmitri Hvorostovsky taking the overall title.
This DVD celebrates the rich harvest of talent in the first 20 years of the BBC 'Singer of the World' competition in Cardiff, from the first winner, Karita Mattila, to 2001 winner of both prizes, Marius Brenciu. Featured in this 2-DVD set are finale performances of all the competition winners, the complete final recitals of the Song Prize winners, The Battle of the Baritones Bryn Terfel and Dmitri Hvorostovsky 'stand-off' in 1989 and the history of 'Singer of the World' which includes historic material, unique highlights and interviews with participants, producers and accompanists.
DVD 1 (170 minutes)
Performances of all ten competition winners Karita Mattila, David Malis, Valeria Esposito, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Lisa Gasteen, Inger Dam-Jensen, Katarina Karneus, Guang Yang, Anja Harteros and Marius Brenciu.
DVD 2 (90 minutes)
~ "20 years BBC 'Singer of the World¨ª' in Cardiff" - A lively documentary celebrating the origins, joys and woes, anecdotes and background of this famous event, including historic material, unique highlights and interviews with winners, participants,producers, opera houses and accompanists.
~ "Lieder Prize Winners" - Presents winning recitals of all Lieder (Song) Prize-winners, including Bryn Terfel, the first recipient and Marius Brenciu, the first to win both prizes!
~ "The Battle of the Baritones" - Looks back at the competition in 1989 and the 'dramatic stand-off' between Bryn Terfel and Dmitri Hvorostovsky.
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